My Life in a few words or less…

Stress to the Factor of 12

One thing I know is true, after being able to keep Big Mac alive and well for 22 months and so far having Little Mac healthy in utero… raising kids can be friggin stressful. And there are many layers of stress. Take for example what is happening right now – I just ate a donut and am sitting with the lap top, literally on my lap, while Big Mac sits approx 2 feet from our giant screen tv watching Cat in the Hat while eating Cheerios. So, now I am stressing about 1) providing sufficient nutrients to Little Mac (a powdered donut will not suffice, me thinks), 2) exposing Little Mac to an unknown amount of radiation from the lap top (too scared of what I might find out if I google this), 3) Big Mac getting square eyeballs, 4) are the cheerios, which are banana nut flavour, an acceptable pre-bed snack for a toddler, 5) is Cat in the Hat educational enough for my kid, 6) will this square eyeball-ness (because I have already accepted that as a guarantee to happen) affect Big Mac later in life, 7) should I be exposing Little Mac to some sort of classical symphony instead of Martin Short …

And the scary thing is that I could go ON.

There are so many things. I get stressed thinking of all the things that I can be stressed about. Then I get overwhelmed. Then I eat more donuts.

As long as you can say that your kid is happy and healthy, you must be doing something right. But then, if it is at the sake of your sanity, is it worth it? Yes, I believe that too much tv is a bad thing… but Big Mac gets so quiet and I have a chance to run to pee without him yelling and/or joining me in the bathroom. Yes, I believe kids should eat well balanced meals… but who’s going to turn down some KD after a frustrating day at work, momma does not have time nor the energy to julienne veggies or grill chicken.

What I have learned is that babies/toddlers/kids are remarkably smart and adaptive. They are basically sponges. Super cute but at times annoying sponges. One of the best references I refer to in times of need is the Mother’s Almanac – the original 1975 published version lent to me from my awesome god-mother, my Aunt Kat. My favourite quote from the book is from the Preface:

Motherhood brings as much joy as ever, but it still brings boredom, exhaustion and sorrow too.

It is great. Parenthood (extrapolitating for inclusivity). And here is where I would say something profound about parenthood and having kids and all the great things they bring you yadda yadda… but I am too friggin tired, my back is sore and Little Mac is punching me in the bladder.